The Power of the Dog : A Novel (Paperback)

~ Thomas Savage (Author), Annie Proulx (Afterword) "PHIL always did the castrating; first he sliced off the cup of the scrotum and tossed it aside; next he forced down first one and..." (more)
Key Phrases: butcher pen, sagebrush hill, dryland farmers, Old Gent, Bronco Henry, Salt Lake City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Set in 1920s Montana, Savage's 1967 novel introduces the Burbank brothers, whose lives are permanently altered when one falls in love with a widow and brings the woman and her son to live on their isolated ranch. LJ's reviewer praised the novel, saying, Savage is a writer who can really write, and who never lets his style get in the way of his plot (LJ 2/15/67).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...a writer of the first order, and he possesses in abundance the novelist's highest art--the ability to illuminate and move..." -- The New Yorker

"...offers so many pleasures...Put simply, The Power of the Dog is a masterpiece..." -- Larry Watson, author of Montana 1948 and Justice

"A fine novel...studded with fleeting insights, and reverberating for some time after it is laid down." -- Jack McClintock, Chicago Tribune

"Gripping and tense...a work of literary art..." -- Annie Proulx

"Thomas Savage is a writer of real consequence...a masterful novelist..." -- Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; 1st Back Bay pbk. ed edition (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316610895
• ISBN-13: 978-0316610896
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #296,566 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping psychological study of Western machismo, January 4, 2004

By	Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is one heck of a novel. Set on a Montana ranch in 1924-25, it tells of a domestic drama involving two brothers and the tensions that quickly develop when one of them marries a widow with a teenage son. The driving emotional force in the novel (and the "dog" of the title) is the older, unmarried brother, a fascinating study in western machismo, who is both sharply intelligent and capable of merciless cruelty, all apparently masking a fiercely denied homosexuality. The opening scene of the novel, with a vivid description of castrating calves graphically characterizes him as cutting and brutal, while wounded both emotionally and sexually. Savage is breathtakingly insightful in his portrayal of this man, exploring his darkest thoughts and carefully observing his behavior. He gets so far beneath the skin of the character, exposing the ugliness beneath his roughly handsome exterior, it makes you uncomfortable.

The novel is wonderfully crafted. Savage shifts easily from the point of view of one character to another, maybe 10-12 of them altogether. And even the most minor characters -- the cook, a maid, an Indian, the brothers' parents -- come to life vividly. The story is told economically, and narrative threads are dovetailed neatly together. Suspense builds steadily, and key details are placed strategically, so that when the final scenes play out, the ending is both surprising and inevitable.

Meanwhile the story takes place in a richly detailed context of everyday life of cowboys and ranch hands -- meals in the ranch house, the idle hours of Sundays around the bunkhouse, the ordering of items from the Sears Roebuck catalogue, and the work of taking cattle to market, branding, and haying. Savage is intimately aware of this world and the minds and attitudes, hopes and fears of the unschooled men who inhabit it.

Though it takes place on the other side of the continent, I was reminded of another writer, Richard Yates, whose "Revolutionary Road" (1961) has something of the same mood, and the same interest in the emotionally isolated lives of characters who are bound by the constraints of time and place. Annie Proulx writes an informative afterword to the new edition of Savage's novel. It's worth mentioning that she takes up the theme of homosexuality in a Western setting in her "Brokeback Mountain," which is included in her terrific collection of Wyoming stories "Close Range."

I recommend "The Power of the Dog" to readers interested in Western fiction, Montana ranch life in the early 20th century, psychological studies, and domestic drama that focuses on the interplay of family members' strengths and weaknesses. As a companion, I recommend Ralph Beer's Montana ranch novel "The Blind Corral."

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tense, harsh, twisted, powerful, January 8, 2003

By	Michael K. McKeon (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This is an incredibly well crafted novel. A brilliant, complex tale of complicated, twisted but plausible characters, fraught with tension. Savage masterfully employs foreshadowing and understatement throughout the novel; it clearly requires a re-reading to appreciate them all, as well as its many metaphors. This tale is so powerful that in the first read you are compelled to proceed reading rather than to slowly savor it. After having finished it, I found myself repeatedly rereading the impeccable last 15 pages -- the perfection of the novel's end literally takes your breath away.

It is rare that one comes across a novel as well written as this: impressive, satisfying, masterful.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, January 22, 2002

By	Trail Runner "TV stinks" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Every once in a while you stumble across a book that stays on your mind long after you finish the last page. This is the type of book you want to recommend to everyone, but instead, you only tell your close friends. When people ask "Have you read anything good lately?" You respond without hesitating "The Power of the Dog," but don't bother to describe the book. It is just that good.

I rarely watch a movie twice, almost never read the same book over. This book is worthy of a second reading. I feel fortunate to stumble upon this incredible story by a genius author...